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If you are a regular reader of the Tate blogs, and have researched our company, you know that we operate completely differently than any other publisher out there. We here at Tate take great pride in the fact that we are partners throughout the entire publishing process. We want the author's input on every aspect of the book, from editing, to design, to marketing and beyond.
As Creative Director, I receive a lot of outside cover design submissions to review for publication. The majority of these, in the best interest of the quality of the book, have to be denied. Even though they may be denied based on quality, copyright issues, etc., we are still happy to receive a visual example of what the author has in their mind's eye for the cover design.
So what makes a good cover design? And how can you ensure that you have all of the right elements to give your book the best visual shot possible? When you begin the cover design process at Tate, your book designer researches your book, speaks with your editor, and will have ideas in mind before they place the initial phone call to you to discuss all options. Remember, a book is ultimately a product that you are trying to sell, and your book designer is helping you create the "package" for it. With 3,000 books published in the U.S. each day, this is a very tough market to get your product seen.
Here are a few tips I have noticed this past year, that the author can do to ensure that the book cover is a successful partnership, and the end result is a marketable product:
1. Have an open mind about the process. Your designer will take into account everything the editor says, what he/she reads in your book, and what you tell them that you would like to see. It is truly a meeting of the minds to take all of this information, and roll it into a beautifully designed cover.
2. Be willing to try something new! There may be new ideas that are just waiting to be discovered, and a good conversation with your designer can help bring these to the surface. The book designers at Tate have the best interest of your book as their primary goal, and they want to make sure it can compete with other books in the current market. They may suggest an idea that is a little out of the box, or different than what you may have originally had in mind. There is no harm in testing out new ideas, who knows, it may result in the perfect cover for your book!
3. Be able to clearly define what the "meat" of your book is about, and even have ideas of what you would like to see on the cover. Direction of what you have in mind, and any ideas you would like to share definitely help the cover design process. While designers love to make beautiful things on their own, the book design process is a partnership and if one partner is absent, they are just shooting in the dark as to what you had in mind. The designers want to make sure you are ecstatic about your book, and that it is a strong design product that can compete in the current market.
4. Resist the urge to ask your designer to put "too much" on the book cover. The end cover design will be 100 times more effective, if it is only sending one central message, and isn't mottled with several tag lines, a lengthy subtitle, too much imagery, etc. This one is probably the most challenging, and we completely understand the desire to want to portray every single element that your book is about on the cover. Think of it this way- if the cover design could be viewed as a person speaking, would you rather have "one" person speaking, or "several" people speaking at the same time at you? Obviously, with several people trying to speak at the same time, the voices all get jumbled together and nothing gets heard. Conciseness is king here.
5. Have fun! Cover design is a really fun process. It is when you get to see your book cover really come to life! Tate's book designers are the most talented in the industry. Period. I am no writer, but if I were to write a book, I would trust my "baby" to any one of them. Maybe it is because I get to see the behind the scenes view more than the average person, and I see how much time and thought they put into each cover, but I do know that pictures speak louder than words. Browse through our new releases on the bookstore, or see Leah LeFlore's blog entry here, for a visual guide through the process.
I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas, and we look forward to seeing you in cover design soon!
Rob Grom: John Dies @ the End
2 days ago
2 comments:
Do you recommend glossy or matte covers? I've read matte-covered books sell better and glossy ones look cheap, is that true?
There has been a trend the past few years where top publishers in general have been utilizing the matte finish on book covers more than glossy. However, just because this is a visual trend, it doesn't necessarily mean that these books will sell better. I have yet to see an average consumer purchase a book based entirely upon the choice of lamination. When we recommend lamination to our authors, it is on a case-by-case basis. We base it on the look and color scheme of their book cover. For instance, we have noticed that black or largely dark book covers do not play well with the matte lamination (in most cases). Matte tends to tone down colors and value a notch, and when you want the dark colors to appear rich and vibrant, glossy is definitely the way to go.
Alternatively, if your cover has a more modern and clean design, we would generally lean towards the matte finish. But again, there are always exceptions to the "norm", and it is a case-by-case decision.
That being said, a lot of self-publishers only offer glossy lamination to their books, as well as template driven cover design. I can see where one might think that glossy lamination looks cheap, because it has been coupled with poorly designed book covers much too often. Keep in mind that it is not necessarily the lamination that makes a book look cheap, but the design under it.
Let me know if I can be of any more assistance on your quest to the perfect lamination!
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